Back to the White House

He walked up to Tony and looked down at the man who had just crawled out of his iron can.

"He looks... like he needs a little personal space."

"By the way, Tony."

A sincere smile appeared on Wu Yanzu's face.

"My movie, Homelander: Origins, premieres worldwide in six weeks. When the time comes... I'll send you a VIP invitation."

"You... arrogant... blond bastard..." Tony trembled with rage.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Wu Yanzu stopped looking at him. He turned, his cape carving an elegant arc through the air.

"Mr. President, let's go."

He grabbed the president by the arm, shot into the sky, and vanished into the darkness before dawn.

All that remained was Tony Stark, holding his "glowing" lover as he stood amid the wreckage and charred corpses on the deck, utterly disheveled in the cold sea wind.

High in the sky.

Wu Yanzu looked at the man in his hand, who had already gone limp with exhaustion, and smiled meaningfully.

President Matthew Ellis... how would you repay me?

In the night sky, the frigid wind was like millions of icy needles, trying to pierce President Ellis's expensive suit.

He had never been this cold in his life, nor had he ever been this clear-headed.

The so-called "courage" he had developed on golf courses and Capitol Hill was a pathetic joke in the face of the massacre he had just witnessed and this current "human flight."

"H-Hold on tighter, Mr. Homelander!" President Ellis's teeth chattered as he clung desperately to Wu Yanzu's arm like it was a lifeline.

"Relax, Mr. President."

Wu Yanzu's voice was unnervingly calm.

He was not flying at full speed, merely maintaining a "comfortable" subsonic pace.

He carried the most powerful man in the country in one hand, while the other was even tucked leisurely behind his back.

"My God..." Ellis looked at the coastline below, now shrunk down to the size of a map. "You... you saved my life. The United States... owes you one."

"Oh, a favor?" Wu Yanzu smiled.

Coming from a politician, that word was cheaper than ice in whiskey.

"Mr. President," Wu Yanzu suddenly stopped in midair.

Ellis's heart skipped a beat with him, and the sudden weightlessness made him let out a brief shriek.

"Do you think a favor is what I want?" Wu Yanzu turned to face Ellis directly.

"I... I..." President Ellis panicked.

"I saved your life. In a few minutes, I resolved a terrorist attack that would have kept the Pentagon in meetings for an entire year." Wu Yanzu's voice was soft, yet more biting than the raging wind.

"And Tony Stark, that so-called Iron Man. He brought along that clanking pile of scrap metal and got beaten into the ground by terrorists. He could not even protect his woman."

"And I..." Wu Yanzu pulled Ellis closer. "I showed up... and I won! Just like I always do."

"W-What do you want?" President Ellis finally asked.

"What do I want?" Wu Yanzu smiled.

"Mr. President, I don't want anything. You are the one who needs me."

Over Washington, D.C., the last darkness before dawn was torn apart by a red-and-blue figure.

Wu Yanzu flew across half the United States at a relatively comfortable speed, carrying a mortal with him.

That mortal, Matthew Ellis, the current president of the United States, had his eyes tightly shut, his face deathly pale, and his hands locked around Homelander's arm.

"Relax, Mr. President. We're almost there. You should change that suit of yours; the quality is terrible."

President Ellis did not hear the latter half at all. He only felt as though his internal organs were about to be flung out through his throat.

"Hold tight. Prepare to land."

Four in the morning, White House.

Every light on the South Lawn was blazing, and Washington's entire security system was close to losing its mind.

Secret Service agents raised their P90 submachine guns and nervously formed a defensive line across the lawn as helicopters circled overhead.

"My God... look! What is that?!" a young agent pointed at the sky.

"Unidentified flying object! Approaching at high speed!!"

"Open fire... wait! Don't fire! That... that is..."

"Whoosh—!"

A violent wind swept up.

Holding President Ellis, Wu Yanzu slowly descended into the center of the South Lawn in a perfect, powerful pose.

His Stars and Stripes cape draped elegantly behind him.

"..."

Dozens of Secret Service agents stood there with their weapons raised, staring dumbfoundedly at the sight.

"M-Mr. President!!"

"Oh my God... it's Homelander!!"

"He... he brought the president back!!"

"Click! Click! Click! Click—!!"

The reporters gathered outside the White House gates had gone mad!

Separated by the iron fence, they hammered their shutters with all their might, the flashes bright as daylight!

This photograph was destined to become the century's most iconic Pulitzer Prize contender—"Homelander Saves the United States."

"Ding! Popularity gained +250410!"

"Ding! Popularity gained +301152!"

"Ding! Popularity gained +284471!"

"..."

Power surged through Azu's body again.

"Good job, me," he thought. "This fucking... is what you call marketing."

"Mr. President!" The head of the Secret Service, an agent named Flynn, was the first to react. He rushed forward with his men and took the president from him.

Oval Office.

The fireplace burned brightly.

President Matthew Ellis was wrapped in a thick wool blanket, holding a freshly poured glass of brandy, but his hand still trembled uncontrollably.

The office was full of people.

The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and... the vice president, who had remained "invisible" throughout the entire incident.

The vice president looked even paler than the president. He knew he was finished.

"Everyone out." President Ellis suddenly spoke, his voice low.

"Mr. President? We must—"

"I said get the fuck out!" Ellis erupted, smashing his glass viciously onto the floor. "Leave only... Mr. Homelander."

Everyone looked at one another, but no one dared defy him.

Under Azu's half-smiling gaze, the vice president practically scrambled out of the office.

The heavy oak door closed.

Now, only two people remained.

"All right..." President Ellis opened his mouth. "No matter what, I owe you my life, Mr. Homelander."

"Just call me Anthony, Mr. President."

"You look terrible, Matthew." He addressed the president by his first name.

President Ellis froze for a moment, but did not object.

Before this man, the authority of his "presidency" was as fragile as paper.